


What Did You Sing to That Lonely Child?

by lumiereandcogsworth



Series: cherry blossoms (young Adam) [3]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Doesn't matter too much, Gen, Like maybe 11 years old?, Lumi and Plum just love Adam so much okay, Pre-Curse, Prequal, Sad and Sweet, Short & Sweet, Young Adam, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumiereandcogsworth/pseuds/lumiereandcogsworth
Summary: “Mon prince! Is everything okay? Why have we stopped?” Lumiere held out his hand to help Adam in, the boy climbing onto the bench across from Lumiere and Plumette.“Father wanted you to cover this,” the prince said to Plumette, a finger pointed to his bruised eye.“Oh, of course mon cher,” she said, scurrying out of the carriage to collect the make-up box. Adam’s heart always warmed when she called him that. He thought her so very sweet, and was glad Lumiere loved her as he did.
Relationships: Adam & Lumiere (Disney), Adam & Plumette (Disney), Lumiere/Plumette (Disney)
Series: cherry blossoms (young Adam) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1840999
Kudos: 11





	What Did You Sing to That Lonely Child?

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song "My Eyes" by The Lumineers! Very special shout out to Jess for showing me that song which entirely inspired this little ficlet. :)

The carriage wheels crunched along the path, Paris was on the horizon in only a couple more hours. A young Prince Adam sat on the carriage bench, pressed against the window, watching the land roll by in a green and blue haze. His father sat next to him, stiff, with a looming presence even in his cold shoulder of silence. The only sound between them was the knocking of the carriage as it pressed on and the beating of hooves clip-clopping against the ground just ahead. Adam leaned on his elbow against the door. The clouds followed him; the birds flew faster. Farm folk stopped and stared as the carriage went by, for they knew that the king and young prince were inside. Adam stared back as they rode past, he could only wonder what their lives were like. 

A sudden clap against his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts with a flinch, his father straightening him up. “Don’t lean against the window, boy. Sit up straight, like a proper man.” 

The king was already reading over the parchment in his hand by the time Adam looked up at him, heart a little more uneasy now. Adam brought a hand to his suddenly afflicted shoulder, rubbing it. Unlikely a bruise would form, all things considered that was not the hardest grip his father could have had on him. Still, the prince’s motion to tend to himself caught his father’s attention. 

“You’re fine, Adam, please,” the king pushed his son’s hand back to his lap. “Don’t be a child.” Just before the king once again turned his attention away, he noticed Adam’s face; the bruise under his eye. “Lord, you shouldn’t be in front of a crowd looking like that.” 

Adam put two fingers to the bruise, still tender to the touch. “It was worse yesterday,” he muttered. 

“No matter,” the king already had a hand snapping out the window to signal the driver to stop the horses. “Go to the servants’ carriage. That maid will have something to cover it.” 

Once the carriage came to a stop, the driver appeared at the door, on Adam’s side, and the prince stepped out. He looked to his right, seeing nothing but dirt road ahead. The sky was a yellow-gray, overcast with the sun trying so hard to shine through anyway. To his left: the servants’ carriage. His heart leapt and he nearly ran to it, pulling the door open himself. 

“Mon prince! Is everything okay? Why have we stopped?” Lumiere held out his hand to help Adam in, the boy climbing onto the bench across from Lumiere and Plumette. 

“Father wanted you to cover this,” the prince said to Plumette, a finger pointed to his eye. 

“Oh, of course mon cher,” she said, scurrying out of the carriage to collect the make-up box. Adam’s heart always warmed when she called him that. He thought her so very sweet, and was glad Lumiere loved her as he did. 

Lumiere looked at Adam, disheartened. He did not have to ask where this bruise came from. “Does it hurt, mon ami?” 

Adam shook his head. “It did when it happened,” he shrugged. “It’s okay now.” 

As soon as Plumette returned and closed the door behind her, the carriages continued on the path. “Oh!” Plumette said, once more feeling the rattling of the carriage under her feet. “Your father is alright with you riding with us?” She asked, sitting beside Adam and opening the box. 

Adam shrugged again, “seems so.” The prince looked out the window, a hint of a smile on his face. “Let’s hope so, at least.” 

Lumiere and Plumette shared concerned looks before the maid put a hand gently to Adam’s arm. “Look here, Adam.” The prince obliged, turning his face up toward her as she applied concealer. 

“It was rather dull in the other carriage.” Adam said when Plumette finished, flexing his cheek to get used to the feel of the make-up. 

“Ah, we cannot have a dull carriage ride, now can we!” Lumiere patted his jacket down until he found a deck of cards in his pocket. “Perhaps a trick to entertain the prince?” He flashed a smile, which caused Plumette to giggle and Adam’s face to light up. 

It was a simple hand trick, fooling the audience to think they had the right card, when the real card had been in Lumiere’s sleeve the whole time. Plumette gave a complimentary applause, Adam leaned off the bench with intrigue in his eyes. “How’d you do it?” 

“Mon prince,” Lumiere chuckled, shuffling the deck against his knee. “That would ruin the magic, non?” 

“Oh, please, Lumiere. Magic is for children and crazy old witches.” 

“Nonsense!” Lumiere attempted a showy display of the cards, but some spilled onto the floor of the carriage. “Magic is all around, for everyone, mon ami.” 

Plumette helped him collect the cards, handing them back to Lumiere and looking out the window. “Look, mon cher,” she put a hand around the boy’s shoulders. “See how the leaves get swept up in the wind! This is magic!” 

“I thought it was the wind,” Adam replied dryly, to which they both chuckled.

“My prince, you must see the beauty in things, the  _ magic _ in things! This will only brighten your days.” The couple shared hopeful smiles, wishing they could bring some joy to the prince. He had not been the same since his mother had died, and how could he be? It had been two years and his father had only grown to be more of a brute towards the boy. 

Adam stared out the window, watched as the leaves twirled along an invisible curve in the air. They were free, freer than he could imagine. Suddenly his heart felt heavy in his chest. He drooped against the bench seat, hands falling in his lap. Plumette sat back, looking at Lumiere with worried eyes. 

In that sad silence, the prince leaned his head against Plumette. Carefully, she slipped her arm around him. Adam didn’t protest. The carriage ride was quiet after that. The young prince fell asleep against Plumette’s warmth, and Lumiere was glad the boy was finally getting some peace. Perhaps they could not change his entire view of the world in a matter of minutes. Perhaps things could not be as they once were. These small moments would have to be enough, for now. His father was cruel, but Adam would never be without those who loved him, that much Lumiere and Plumette knew for certain. Plumette held the boy close as the carriage wobbled on. Soon, they’d be in Paris, and Adam would have to wake up, and his world would have to continue spinning again. But for now, Adam could rest, surrounded by only warmth and love, just as it should be. 


End file.
